August 4, 2010

Vineland Estates 2005 Cabernet Franc


(Re-Tasted August 2010) ... I have a confession to make and I feel bad that I have to admit this to you, but I feel we are friends and that I can share this with you:  I stole this wine from Vineland Estates, I hope winemaker Brian Schmidt can forgive me.  

Okay, I didn't really steal this bottle of wine, but drinking it tonight I sure feel like I did ... I paid a piddly $12.95 for this bottle, but it tastes like a wine twice its price and it will seem even better in years to come.  This was one of those "wine bargains" you hear talk about, a wine that delivers beyond its price point.  This is a beauty of a Cabernet Franc with smoky black fruit, spiced dried cherry tobacco and much more, and what's more this one is far from being past its prime - there's lots of life left in the bottle.  5 years for a $12.95 wine, do you really expect that kind of longevity?  Not really.  10 years?  That would be amazing, and I think it's very doable here, another 5 years wouldn't put too much of a ding n the taste.  It will be nice to test this theory in a few years, and looking in my cellar I see I will be able to do just that.  

Now I realize that I didn't just steal this bottle, I committed an act of grand theft larceny; I hope the folks at Vineland don't send the cops to my door after reading this - but if they do I hope the constables that shows up like wine, we can share a bottle before they haul me away.

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